Photography Protest in Silver Spring Tomorrow
In times when security fears, whether justified or not, begin to creep over our lives, it's important to remember that the tiny chipping away of legitimate rights can be a slippery slope to unwarranted governmental authority over our lives. We wrote in June about photographer Chip Py's experience in downtown Silver Spring, as well as Kate Mereand's similar confrontations all over D.C., and their subsequent formation of DC Photo Rights, a Flickr group dedicated to assuring rights of photographers when security detail claim they have none. Since then, numerous news outlets have picked up the story, including Marc Fisher at the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun.
The folks at DC Metblogs took a particular interest in the story and decided it was time to protest. They set up a web site, Free Our Streets, and have provided some interesting research about the Peterson Company, the developer that claimed Py had no right to photograph on Ellsworth Drive. The lease signed by the county to the developers contains an easement "for public access," though it allows the private company to "enforce reasonable rules and regulations." Both of these statements seem pretty obvious: photography is allowed on Ellsworth Drive. Non-commercial photography of the area in downtown Silver Spring is not only reasonable, but it constitutes part of "public access," just like walking down Constitution Avenue.
The Peterson Company has issued a laughable statement in reaction to the recent publicity over this issue, and has somehow deemed itself the authority to "give" these rights to photographers, stating in a press release, "We permit all [photography, videography and other filming at our Center]." The developer is sort of like your boyfriend who decides to "let" you go out with your girl friends one night. They're doling out rights that already exist, intending to "keep" the authority to stamp them out when they choose (as the statement continues, "We reserve the right to modify this and other policies").
Py, Mereand and other local photogs aren't buying it, and will hold their protest as planned tomorrow -- on Independence Day, naturally -- at noon (and will arrive to a banner saying "Welcome Photographers" hung by the developer). If you'd like to join them, bring a camera and meet them at the corner of Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street.
Photo of approaching security guard outside the Department of Agriculture by Eye Captain.
The protesters hope to drive the point home that they have rights notwithstanding the Peterson Company's self-righteousness. Beyond that, there's the bigger issue of not bowing to illegitimate authority and making sure that people know their rights no matter where they are. A group of our Flickr photographers were even approached by security guards mere minutes after leaving our meet-up at Warehouse last week and were told that they could not take photos because they were outside a Federal building. Our guys, of course, know their rights and were able to stand up for themselves.
The issue, if you're wondering, is bigger than being able to take a snapshot to post on Flickr, because Benjamin Franklin was not wrong.